1. Technical Field
Aspects of this document relate generally to pool cleaning system valve assemblies.
2. Background Art
In conventional pool cleaning system valve assemblies, rotation of the valve assembly is dependent upon water flow through the assembly. The water flow must continue in order to maintain rotation of the impeller and the gearing mechanism. Conventional pool valve assemblies include round pipe fittings connected to the valve. Overlap of the adjacent valve ports with the valve as it rotates is nearly constant. This overlap with adjacent ports reduces the power or pressure of the water flowing through each port because the water flow is split between two ports rather than just flowing directly through one. Furthermore, the footprint of the valve assembly is relatively large and becomes larger with each port added to the round array.
Pool valve assemblies are typically also very difficult to repair and/or remove. This is a result of the coupling of the valve housing, which houses all of the wear surfaces within the valve, directly to the plumbing. When the wear surfaces become damaged and/or broken, the wear parts must be cut off and an entirely new base glued to the plumbing.